Bears season was depressing from start to finish.  The worst feeling of the year was Week 1 – the Thursday night opener at home against Green Bay.  Expectations were Super Bowl or bust and we were immediately notified that 2019 would be a huge bust.  The coffin was already sealed by Week 17, but we still got together for the game at my Aunt Bird’s on 103rd.  It’s part of our punishment for being Bears fans -you have to watch no matter the circumstances.  Mike placed a pick-up order from Wojos and I drove him to get it at halftime.  I waited in the car while Mike went in.

“I didn’t like the demeanor of the kid behind the counter,” Mike reported upon his return to the vehicle.  The 19-year-old they put in charge during the holidays doesn’t seem destined for a career in customer relations.  And despite a bag check, the order ended up being screwed.  They forgot the sport peppers on our dogs.  I can live without sport peppers, but it sure takes a little of the enjoyment out of it.  And we were already watching a lousy Bears game against the playoff-bound Vikings 3rd-stringers.  The Bears drove down the field to win it on a short Eddy Piniero FG – after rookie David Montgomery was told to flop on the ground instead of running it into the end zone with a minute remaining.  I know it would’ve risked Matt Nagy’s 8-8 record for the season, but I’ll bet on Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson holding Minnesota in exchange for one feel good moment to end the season and a 2-touchdown day for the running back we’re counting on to grow into a stud for the future.  So, if you’re keeping score – The Bears won a meaningless game in the most gutless manner possible and Wojos forgot our sport peppers.  Luckily, our spirits couldn’t be dampened on a post-Christmas family gathering on the South Side.  Bird even gave me a parting gift – a Play-Doh fuzzy pumper set she remembered me coveting when I was 8.   Good memory.   I tried to make sport peppers with it, but they came out too soft.